Visitors to the islands come by boat or plane and there is limited camping available.  San Miguel, the most distant island, requires a ranger guide to access the island and has fewer than 900 visitor a year so it is quite a treat to visit and enjoy it's solitude.

 

A trip to the Channel Islands is an adventure always remembered.

 

 

 

 

Channel Island photos

 

Elephant seal photos

Channel Islands National Park
      Channel Islands National Park, off the coast of California near Santa Barbara, encompasses five of the eight Channel Islands and the surrounding ocean environment. Included in the park are San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands.

     Isolated from the mainland for thousands of years, these islands and the surrounding waters contain over 2000 species of plants and animals- 145 are found nowhere else.

     During the last ice age with the surrounding water levels much lower, species from the mainland migrated to the islands. When the ice age ended and the water levels raised, the plants and animals that had made it to the islands became isolated and evolved over time to become new species. These included a pigmy mammoth, foxes, mice, scub jays and many different plants. In this respect these islands are similar to the Galapagos islands.